Telling Stories, Selling Stories Lecture Notes, Fall 2024
August 22, 2024 (Thursday)
Schedule for Today
Update on Canvas
Discuss Participation
Documentary Example
Meet with Me
Update on Canvas
The Canvas site should be ready by tomorrow with a link to the survey.
Participation
Submit log via Canvas every week
Spreadsheet format sample will be posted on Canvas.
Documentary Example
Thin Blue Line
August 27, 2024 (Tuesday)
Schedule for Today
Participation Logs
Review of Survey Data
Meet with Me (contd.)
Textbook Introduction Overview
Participation Logs
Review example
Making up Missed Classes
Review of Survey Data
92% somewhat or very familiar with subject area
Favorite Book
Meet with Me (contd.)
- What would be most useful to you in this course?
Textbook Introduction Overview
Semiotic approach
Semiotics - the study of meaningmaking processes
Narratives - series of events, meaningfully connected by time and cause
Stories - events, environments (setting), characters
Genre - why does it matter?
Categorization
Understanding
August 29, 2024 (Thursday)
Schedule for Today
Syllabus Changes
Review of Genre
Plot - Chapter 2 Textbook
Syllabus Changes
Incorporated Hallmarks
Revamped topics based on student feedback
Review of Genre
Predictable yet dynamic
Additional Student Questions/Responses:
Why are genres useful? They can help keep a storyteller on track and free from distractions.
Is the trend of mixing genres going to lead to a genre overload?
How are genres determined?
Is there value in leaving a genre unclear, i.e., plot twist?
Plot
Story - set of events in the storyworld
Plot - the arrangement of the sequence of events
“Emplotment”
Sequence of events
Relevance - providing/withholding information relevant to the story
“What is that?”
“A Unicorn.”
“Never seen one up close before.”
“Beautiful.”
“Get away. Get Away.”
“I’m sorry.”
Typical, Western Story Progression (Beginning, Middle, End)
Chronological
Overcoming the Monster
Hero’s Journey (The Quest)
Rags to Riches (Horatio Alger)
Comedy
Tragedy
Voyage and Return
Rebirth
Conflict-Based Stories
Protaganist (fighting for) / Antagonist (fighting against)
Epiphany Stories
Captain Marvel
- Other Examples?
September 3, 2024 (Tuesday)
Schedule for Today
Thursday Class
Plot Discussion (contd.)
Setting - Chapter 3 Textbook
Setting
- Around the World in Eighty Days (2021) - animated
September 10, 2024 (Tuesday)
Schedule for Today
Thursday Class
Characterization
Characterization
Individuation - real humans or by extrapolation
Physical features
Mental state
Behaviors / habits
Types
Stereotypes
Flat / round
Dynamic / static
Class Exercise
- Read Castle 4 by Edith Perlman
https://www.aqreview.org/aqr-vol-26-number-3-and-4-fallwinter-2009/castle-4-edith-pearlman
Choose 3 characters
Explain characterization and types for each
September 17, 2024 (Tuesday)
Schedule for Today
Review and Questions
Themes
Review and Questions
Question:
Would the term archetypes be more appropriate to use than stereotypes because the negative connotations to the word sterotype? Or is character archtype a different thing than a characters stereotype?
Themes
Definitions
theme: “meaning identified by an interpreter”
ideology - “interconnected beliefs, ideas, values, and norms”
morality - “thesis” author / creator is attempted to persuade interpreters to accept
Morality
concealed
committed
critical
ambiguous
Short Story: Hemingway, Cat in the Rain
https://archive.org/details/ernesthemingwaycatintherain
Should stories be used to create social change?
TED Talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story
September 19, 2024 (Thursday)
Schedule for Today
Themes and Overall Review
One Minute Feedback
Upcoming Weeks
Themes and Overall Review
Themes: theme, ideology, morality
Stories for social and behavioral change
Sand Castles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcClX3kg2dw
Plot
Setting
Characterization
One Minute Feedback
What is working for you in this course?
What is not working for you in this course?
Upcoming Weeks
Story Analysis Assignment
No more textbook: check Canvas
September 24, 2024 (Tuesday)
Schedule for Today
One Minute Feedback Review
Compelling Stories
One Minute Feedback Review
Question and answer per week (not per class)
Advance notice of readings and videos
Writing own stories with peer-review
Compelling Stories
“write for the ear, not the eye”
in-class practice: choose from The Story Factor, p. 2
Telling Compelling Oral Stories
What components do you notice?
in-class practice
September 26, 2024 (Thursday)
Schedule for Today
Career Fair
Policy Story Link in Canvas
Compelling Stories (contd.)
Talk about Story Analysis Assignment
Career Fair
Policy Story Link in Canvas
- Make sure logged in to Jefferson account
Compelling Stories
Why tell stories at work?
Influence the meaning of facts
Trust and Faith helps the work outlast you
The Story Factor (p. 3)
- Compelling Story Strategies
1. Story first, facts after
2. Less is More - distill to key points
https://www.dwell.com/article/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe-architect-19dd30ba
3. Storyboarding to focus on the "wood" not the trees
Marketing Example - https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-storyboard-experiences-fc051e2bc04d
Multimedia Journalism Example - https://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/start-to-finish-storyboarding/
4. Use imagery
Version 1
A young child accidentally splashed bleach into their eye while playing. The child cried out in pain, but their older sibling hesitated to seek help. They were worried that they would get in trouble for not watching the child closely enough. After a few tense moments, they decided to rinse the child’s eye with water instead of going to the emergency room.
Version 2
In a bright kitchen, a young child accidentally splashed bleach into their eye, the sharp sting making tears flow down their cheeks. The air filled with the harsh smell of chemicals as the child cried out in pain. Their older sibling stood frozen, heart racing, torn between the urgency of seeking help and the fear of getting in trouble for not watching closely enough. The clock ticked loudly, each second stretching painfully as they weighed their options. Finally, with a deep breath, they rushed to the sink, turning on the cold water, hoping it would wash away both the bleach and their worries.
Storyboard Exercise
- Finish the above story with an ending of your choice
- Focus on imagery you want to evoke reader / viewer / listener senses
Talk about Story Analysis Assignment
- See Canvas
October 1, 2024 (Tuesday)
Schedule for Today
Career Fair Follow Up
Persuasive Stories
Story Analysis Workshop
Career Fair Follow Up
- Thoughts?
Persuasive Stories
6 Rules for Persuasive Storytelling https://www.nngroup.com/articles/persuasive-storytelling/
Lawyer Example (Canvas)
Stand Up to Cancer
Story Analysis Q & A
October 3, 2024 (Thursday)
Schedule for Today
Persuasive Stories (contd.)
Story Analysis Workshop
Persuasive Stories
Embedding Facts in Stories
Strong facts
Weak facts
Examples
Trulicity Facts and Ad
Facts: https://www.goodrx.com/trulicity/what-is
Ad:
Student Choice (Ad)
Writing a Commercial Video Script
Story Analysis Workshop
October 8, 2024 (Tuesday)
Schedule for Today
- Storytelling Ethics
- Research Logs
Storytelling Ethics
Telling Stories from Real Life
- Queensburg and Brooks (2010) Recommendations
- Henrietta Lacks Example
Trailer for Film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-jxEX1XQpY
Excerpt
Dialect
As one of Henrietta’s relatives said to me, ‘If you pretty up how people spoke and change the things they said, that’s dishonest. It’s taking away their lives, their experiences, and their selves.’
In many places I’ve adopted the words interviewees used to describe their worlds and experiences. In doing so, I’ve used the language of their times and backgrounds, including words such as colored.
Members of the Lacks family often referred to Johns Hopkins as ‘John Hopkin,’ and I’ve kept their usage when they’re speaking. Anything written in the first person in Deborah Lacks’s voice is a quote of her speaking, edited for length and occasionally clarity.”
October 10, 2024 (Thursday)
Schedule for Today
- Research Logs for Final Project
- Storytelling Ethics - (Dis)ability
- Ethical Storytelling Practice
Research Logs for Final Project
- Final project overview
- What is a research log?
Storytelling Ethics - (Dis)ability
Visual representations of persons with disabilities
- Student Example: Assume that I can
- Language / terminlogy
- Accessible stories
- closed captioning
- flashing lights
- what else?
- Let’s critique: Project RTR - Ready to Run
Ethical Storytelling Practice
- What additional questions would you ask?
- What recommendations would you make to Fast ’n Ready Prosthetics?
- What overacharching story would you tell your superiors?
October 17, 2024 (Thursday)
Schedule for Today
- Grading Update
- Planning Stories
- Planning Practice
Grading Update
- handwritten comments to come
Planning Stories
Crafting the Story
https://hbr.org/2023/02/your-strategy-needs-a-story
- Determine factual context
- Draft
- Test
- Redraft
- Deploy
Deploying the Story
- Which media for what purpose?
- Managing multiple media channels
HubSpot Marketing Ad
Planning Practice
PROBLEM / ISSUE – > BEHAVIOR CHANGE – > STORY PLAN
October 22, 2024 (Tuesday)
Schedule for Today
- Office Hours Change
- Audience Engagement
- Final Project Workshop
Office Hours Change
- by appointment in-person or zoom
Audience Engagement
Audience Measurement
| Media Form | Ratings Provider | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Books | Goodreads | User-generated ratings and reviews for books. |
| NY Times Best Sellers | “Authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the United States, sorted by format and genre.” | |
| Podcasts | Podchaser | Ratings and reviews specific to podcast episodes and shows. |
| Apple Podcasts | User ratings and reviews for podcasts on Apple’s platform. | |
| Television Shows | Nielsen Ratings | Measures viewership and demographics for TV programs. |
| Rotten Tomatoes (TV section) | Aggregated critic and audience scores for TV shows. | |
| Advertisements | Admeter | Measures viewer reactions to TV commercials. |
| Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings | Tracks digital ad performance across platforms. | |
| Films | Rotten Tomatoes | Aggregated critic and audience ratings for movies. |
| IMDb | User ratings and reviews for films. | |
| Social Media | Hootsuite | Analyzes engagement metrics across social media platforms. |
- NY Times Best Sellers
https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/
- Podchaser
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts
- Nielsen TV Ratings (Nielsen Media Ratings)
- Social Media - YouTube Analytics Example
Ratings Exercise:
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/youtube-analytics
- Choose one and summarize on the board
Final Project Workshop
The P Process
- Inquire
- Design Strategy
- Create and Test
- Mobilize & Monitor
- Evaluate & Evolve
< https://thecompassforsbc.org/sbcc-tools/pprocess >
PROBLEM / ISSUE – > BEHAVIOR CHANGE – > STORY PLAN
October 24, 2024 (Thursday)
Schedule for Today
- People / Power Media Fest
- Audience Engagement (contd.)
- Final Project Workshop
People / Power Media Fest
This Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm
Free admission if volunteer
Audience Engagement
The P Process
Final Project Workshop
Examples
Videos
Animated Public Information Campaign
Dumb Ways to Die
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNR2EpS0jw
Personal Story Public Information Video
Drowning doesn’t look like drowning
Infographics / Brochures
Which one uses a story?
https://piktochart.com/blog/infographic-examples/
Video Games
Concrete Genie
Empathy, Grief / Mental Health
Student Resources for creating video games